‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Sets the Highest Record in Series History, Raising a Huge Green Flag For the Game of Thrones Franchise’s Future
- House of the Dragon Season 2 sets a new record for the series.
- Success and popularity of House of the Dragon is going to impact the future spin-offs in the franchise.
- Showrunner explains they are trying to look for a satisfying end for the series.
HBO’s popular action-adventure-fantasy drama series created by author George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal, House of the Dragon, is the prequel to Game of Thrones, which premiered from 2011 to 2019. It is the second series in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise and is based on the Fire & Blood book, published in 2018. The events in House of the Dragon take place nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and go on to showcase the events that led to the downfall of House Targaryen.
House of the Dragon premiered in 2022 and received positive responses from critics and the audience for its visual effects, storyline, character development, and more. The actors were highly lauded for their exceptional acting skills, and the praise continued when season two premiered on June 16, 2024. Season one’s premiere episode was reportedly watched by over 10 million viewers across the world, and now season two has also set a record that is going to affect the future spin-offs of Game of Thrones.
Success of House of the Dragon season 2 going to impact the future spin-offs in the franchise
House of the Dragon’s fans were eagerly waiting for the premiere of season two, and upon its premiere, the season has not disappointed the viewers. According to reports by THR, season 2 of the fantasy drama created by author George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal has been growing in viewership with every episode.
The publication reports that for the week of June 17–23, House of the Dragon racked up to 1.23 billion minutes viewed on the streaming channel. This number is the highest mark for the series in Nielson’s streaming ratings. Episode 4, titled The Red Dragon and the Gold, which featured an epic dragon battle scene, recorded about 8.1 million viewers, according to Variety.
The epic battle featured Ewan Mitchell’s Prince Aemond Targaryen along with his dragon Vhagar face Princess Rhaenys Targaryen played by Eve Best with her dragon Meleys at Rook’s Rest. King Aegon Targaryen II, played by Tom Glynn-Carney, and his dragon Sunfyre later joined Aemond.
Episode 4 is the highest-rated episode in season two so far, and it’s no surprise that the audience loves to see dragons and dragon riders face each other off up in the sky, as one of them yells, ‘Dracarys’. The world of House of the Dragon, or be it Game of Thrones, has always fascinated viewers. Season 2 has also been laying the foundations for several upcoming spin-offs in the franchise.
The finale episode of Game of Thrones received an underwhelming response from the audience due to the ending of the series which not only confused the audience but also angered them. But at the same time, a strong and well-rounded House of the Dragon storyline has impressed the viewers. They are now waiting for the spin-offs, and are now expecting, thanks to the success of House of the Dragon, that the storylines and characters are going to be as strong and impactful as the ongoing spin-off.
ScreenRant reports that as of now, two confirmed spin-offs are A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight and Aegon’s Conquest. Others that are rumored or in development but are not confirmed include The Golden Empire, The Sea Snake, and 10,000 ships. The success of HOTD is surely going to impact the future spin-offs in the franchise as it has already raised the bar for the viewers because the show has managed to deliver everything that the ardent viewers expected from the series.
The show-runner talks about finding a ‘satisfying end’ for House of the Dragon
Showrunner Ryan Condal spoke to the Radio Times about HOTD Season 2, where he mentioned that the writing for the ongoing season has given him a better and clearer picture of where the show is heading. He said,
I think through the writing and making of season 2, it helps bring up some level of clarity as to where we’re going with this particular series and where we want to draw to a close. As I always say, this is a history that marches on for decades after this.
Condal also mentioned that the show is not about ending Targaryen’s history; it’s just about finding a place to close the curtain at this particular time. He added that they are trying to find a satisfying television ending where they can leave everybody knowing that the time marches on from here. Condal concluded that, at the same time, they want to tell the audience that the end is going to conclude that they have brought a dramatic story to a close.
It won’t be wrong to say that the underwhelming and highly criticized finale of Game of Thrones has been lopping around the creators. And they are trying not to make the same mistake as GOT showrunners did while closing the curtain on their eight-season-long storyline. Condal and Martin are looking for a satisfying end to the series that is surely going to impact the future spin-offs of the franchise. HOTD is renewed for Season 3.
House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones are streaming on HBO Max.
